Some of the biggest names in IT including IBM, Microsoft, Google and Intel reported quarterly earnings this week, revealing a picture of the tech sector that, while not as gloomy as had been feared, is nevertheless mixed.

Last week, the PC industry was rocked by news that Q1 computer shipments had declined by as much as 14 percent, year on year. Analysts cite various factors, but they put most of the blame on a consumer shift toward tablets and other mobile devices.

Microsoft may recant its Windows 8 design theology, bloggers reported Tuesday, by offering Windows 8 users an option to bypass the "Modern" UI and by restoring the Start button and menu to the beleaguered operating system.

Products based on a USB specification that will double the data transfer rates between host devices and peripherals will reach the market in late 2014, the standards-setting organization said on Thursday.

A "perfect storm" of struggling PC companies, aversion to Windows 8 and wider mobile-device adoption plunged the already struggling PC market into a free fall during the first quarter this year, IDC said.

Computers may have become a lot more user-friendly over the past decade, but they're still far from perfect--PCs require a certain amount of configuration and maintenance to operate at their full potential. Unfortunately, because we humans are also far from perfect, we frequently don't put in the work we should, and we end up with a slower, sloppier, less secure machine as a result.

Compared with Intel's diminutive NUC and Sapphire's slim and sexy Edge VS8, you might think of Lenovo's IdeaCentre Q190 as a full-figured micro PC. It's not the smallest such model, but it boasts a ton of ports, it has enough interior space to move air over its components, and it has a Blu-ray drive option. If you're looking for a home-theater PC, those are important features.